Super Friends 14
Story One: Elementary Our adventure begins at fabulous Carousel Restaurant in the Wayne Building. Bruce Wayne is present at a dinner party. At his table is Sandor Fane (who was also born to wealth), Crystal Marr, Jeannine Gale, Ginger O’Shea and Grant Arden. Over the course of conversation, Sandor (or Sandy as Bruce calls him), brings up the ancient 16th century alchemist, Paracelsus. Sandor is fascinated with Parcelsus’ intrigue with the spirits the inhabited the four elements: the ‘spirit of Gnomes’ in the earth, the ‘spirit of Undines’ in the water, the ‘spirit of Sylphs’ in the air and the ‘spirit of Salamanders’ in fire. He goes on by stating that he has acquired a previously unknown writing that says that Paracelsus had found ways to summon the elemental spirits. Bruce excuses himself from the table stating he has previous engagement – to patrol the streets of Gotham as the Batman! He swiftly heads to a secret batcave beneath the Wayne Building to begin his patrol. The young lady’s comment at that the table that it could be another girl, especially after Silver St. Cloud turned him down.E. Nelson Bridwell references the events Bruce and St, Cloud chronicled in ''Detective Comics, #476'' (April, 1978). The following morning, strange objects begin to appear all over the world. Aquaman spots a gigantic deep blue sapphire on a beach not far from Aquaman’s undersea home. Wonder Woman in her stomping grounds, finds a huge sparkling diamond next to the U.N. Building in New York City. Batman finds a blood-red ruby at Gotham City Police Headquarters and Superman comes across a shimmering green emerald atop the Galaxy Building in Metropolis. The green emerald cracks open to reveal a diminutive, seemingly elderly man who claims to be the Gnome, master of the earth, who’s strength is invincible. He uses his transmutation power to transform the emerald into Kryptonite, overcoming Superman. Meanwhile… the Sea-King has his hands full. A woman emerges from the giant sapphire claiming to be the Undine, a greater sea-ruler than even Aquaman. Meanwhile… the Amazon battles the Sylph, mistress of the air. Meanwhile… Batman is greeted by the Salamander! She is keeping Batman at bay by projecting fire at him. Back at the Hall of Justice our Jr. SuperFriends, Robin, Zan, Jayna and Gleek are growing concerned as they watch on the monitor. Zan and Jayna activite their powers before they depart to help. Jayna becomes a Thrib (an Exorian creature with hypnotizing powers) and takes off to help Wonder Woman in New York. She drops Gleek off to help Aquaman. Robin jumps on his R-Cycle and heads ‘across the bridge’ to Metropolis to help Superman and Zan heads over to help Batman. Upon arrival, Zan morphs into a wave of water to put out the blazed Salamander. It worked, knocking her out cold. As he pulls off the mask, he is shocked to see Ginger O’Shea. Robin arrives and aids the subdued Superman, by using knock-out gas. When he pull off the mask, Robin is surprised to see Grant Arden. This happens with our other heroes too. Wonder Woman and Jayna discover Jeannine Gale under the Sylph mask. When our Heroine confronts the girl, she denies being Jeannine, but says that she is inhabiting her body and that she was told Wonder Woman was a criminal. As Gleek distracts the Undine, now morphed into a gorilla, Aquaman is able to use his Aquapathy to call for help. When he does, he also reaches into the mind of the Undine, because it is of the sea. It grows confused by the presence. She realizes that she he has been deceived and reveals herself to Aquaman. A short time later, the Elementals meet the SuperFriends at the great hall. They reveal to our heroes that they are ‘elemental spirits’ who now co-inhabit the bodies of four humans, how they were summoned by the Overlord and given these forms. They were told the SuperFriends were evil, needing to be destroyed. The Elementals, desiring to gain a soul agreed to the task. (NOTE: Elementals can gain a souls and thus prolong their 300 year life cycle if they obtain a human-body and either marry of do good over a long period of time.) The SuperFriends recall their confrontation with the Kingslayer and how, once captured, could not really tell them anything about the Overlord. They ask if they could speak to the Elmenatals’ human counterparts. The Elementals comply. In their human form, they tell of how Sandor Fane summoned the Elementals but didn’t tell them that they have their bodies inhabited. Batman then deduces that Sandor Fane is the Overlord. The SuperFriends vow to hunt the Overlord down and ask the Elementals for help, but they are reluctant, not wanting to give up the lives they worked so hard to establish. The SuperFriends remind them that the Elementals can take over any time they want. The SuperFriends and the Wonder Twins encourage them by telling them by telling them that they can continue being themselves, like a secret identity while the Elementals are inactive. This will give them time to train. Featured Characters * The SuperFriends including the Wonder Twins (dubbed the Super-Seven): ** Aquaman ** Batman **Robin **Superman **Wonder Woman * Jr. SuperFriends: **Zan **Jayna **Gleek Supporting Characters * Bruce Wayne * Wayne Foundation * Crystal Marr -- first appearance * Jeannine Gale (previous appearance in issue #5) * Ginger O’Shea -- first appearance * Grant Arden -- first appearance * Sandor Fane -- first appearance * The Elementals: ** The Salamander -- first appearance ** The Gnome -- first appearance ** The Undine -- first appearance ** The Sylph -- first appearance Mentioned Only * Paracelsus (16th century Alchemist)See: Paracelsus at Wikipedia * Wonder Woman mentions Hera, Athena and Apollo (and his Lyre).As the leader of the Muses (Apollon Musegetes) and director of their choir, Apollo functioned as the patron god of music and poetry. Hermes created the lyre for him as a gift. The instrument became a common attribute of Apollo. * The Kingslayer * Silver St. Cloud Main Villain * The Overlord (previous appearance in issue #12) Locations * Carousel Restaurant, Wayne Building * Batcave beneath the Wayne Building * Gotham City ** Gotham City Police Headquarters ** Hall of Justice ** Wayne Manor * Metropolis ** GBS Building * New York City **U.N. Building * Aquaman's Undersea Home Gallery Blue Sapphire (Issue 14).jpg |Aquaman meets the Undine Green Emerald (Issue 14).jpg | Superman meets the Gnome Red Ruby (Issue 14).jpg | Batman meets the Salamander Sparkling Diamond (Issue 14).jpg | Wonder Woman meets the Sylph Notes * This story mentions Bruce Wayne's relationship with Silver St. Cloud and references back to the events of ''Detective Comics, #476'' (April, 1978).This issue is a part of the 8-issue story arc (Detective Comics, Vol. 1 #469 -- #476 (May 77' -- April 78') retroactively titled "Batman: Strange Apparitions", known for Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers' now-classic portrayal of the Batman (also briefly featuring Walt Simonson). * The Overlord is revealed to be Sandor Fane. Story Two: The Origin of the Wonder Twins The SuperFriends and their new allies the Elementals, relax in the Hall of Justice, talking about the recent misunderstanding and debate the desire to give up their powers. The SuperFriends unanimously agree that they have never destined that. However, the Wonder Twins tell a different tale which involves the secrets of their origin. It would appear that Zan and Jayna were born mutants on the planet Exxor at a time when this was no longer the norm. Each of them gifted with a specified aspect of shape shifting. While still infants, a great plague swept across Exxor killing hundreds, including their parents. Since no one on Exor wanted mutant children, the twins were raised in an interplanetary circus until such time that they came of age (which is 20 years of age). While their they cared for Gleek. As they grew to adolescence, they became frustrated with the enslaved life of a carnival performer, so they flee to Exxor and land in the remote region called the Fejanian Wilderness. While their, they overhear Grax , a supervillain mking plans to defeat Superman and his Super-Hero friends. So they travel to Earth to warn the heroes and eventually aid the SuperFriends in battling the forces of Graxv -- and you know the rest.This adventure is told in issues: Issue #7, Issue #8 and Issue #9. As they conclude their story, they say the best part is that they no longer hate the powers that once made them freaks and outcasts on Exor. And one day, maybe, they'll go back to Exor to become the planets Super-Heroes. * For an extended overview of the twins origin see: Wonder Twins Featured Characters * The Wonder Twins ** Zan ** Jayna ** Gleek Supporting Characters * The SuperFriends ** Aquaman ** Batman ** Robin ** Superman ** Wonder Woman * Ginger O’Shea (aka the Salamander) * Grant Arden (aka the Gnome) * Crystal Marr (aka the Undine) * Jeannine Gale (aka the Sylph) Appear in Flashback: * Grax * Fonab (Zan and Jayna's father) -- first and only appearance * Rua (Zan and Jayna's mother) -- first and only appearance * Illik the Laughmaker -- first appearance, appears next in issue #21 * The Exxorians -- next appearance in issue #21 * Dentwil -- first and only appearance Locations * Gotham City ** Hall of Justice * Trans-World Carnival * The planet Exor ** Fejanian Wilderness Notes * The flashback sequence involving the Wonder Twins precedes their first appearance in issue #7. * Gleek also appears in flashback sequence. As with the Wonder Twins, this flashback precedes his first appearance in issue #7. * The letter page makes direct connections with the 'heads of state' seen in SuperFriends, #11 to their Earth-One counterparts. Trivia * During the dinner scene in the Carousel Restaurant in the Wayne Building, all of Bruce's friends are introduced in alphabetical order. * This issue includes a Hostess Twinkies advertisement featuring Green Lantern and Mirror Master. References Category:SuperFriends Comic book Category:1978 Releases